Fountain toothbrush



T. L. TURMAN FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1958 Toby L. Turman INVENTOR. 4052 48 m g um 56 WW 29m 46 v T. L. TURMAN FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Oct. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29, 1958 m m .m T. n N. A m mm r v .m M m? T w ,is located within the hollow body, and a piston is the valve is in the open position.

United States Patent ,0

FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Toby L.'Turman, Moriah, N.Y. Application January 29, 1958, Serial No. 712,016 1 Claim. (Cl. 15--137) thereon over the bristles of the brush, protecting the same, and having means thereon for ready attachment .to the pocket of a shirt or jacket, similar to conventional types'ofpens and pencils.

A further'object of this invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed wherein a simple, yet efiicient, mechanism is used for applying the dentifrice, located within the handle of the toothbrush, to the bristles of the brush.

An even further object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described wherein novel means thereon make for easy refilling of the toothbrush handle with dentifrice by a simple and quick procedure.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a new andnovel type of piston and actuating mechanism therefor, for efiicientlyforcing dentifrice from within the handle, into the bristles of the brush, when it is desired that the dentifrice be applied thereto.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a simple type of efiicient valve mechanism whereby the dentifrice being forced outwardly of the handle, may

flow through the valve when open and through a passage into the bristles of the brush. This valve may have its position changed so as to close the passageway and pre vent flow, so that when traveling there need be no fear of dentifrice escaping from the brush handle. Obviously,

it is necessary that the valve belocated at the bristle end of a toothbrush. However, it is desirable to have the valve control 'means at the opposite end thereof, for easier manipulation and design. Therefore, an even further object of the invention is to provide a valve mechanism in a toothbrush, having its actuating mechanism located on the opposite end thereof.

This invention contemplates the use of a hollow cylindrical body, having bristles on one end thereof. The hollow body communicates with the bristles, through the medium of a passageway, which has a valve located therein, so as to control flow therethrough. A dentifrice used to force dentifrice into the bristles of the brush, when Two types of pistons are disclosed herein, however it will be realized that a great number of different types of pistons may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Both types of pistons are disposed about a stem which extends longitudinally through trating the valve,

2,908,924 Patented Oct. 20, 1959 2 u valve. One piston is spring urged toward the valve to force dentifrice toward the valve also, and the other, is keyed to the stem, and has threads around the periphery thereof, which engage threads formed on the inner surface of the hollow body portion, so that upon rotation of the stem, the piston will be threaded toward the valve and force dentifrice in the same direction. At the open end of the hollow body, is provided a closure member which also accommodates the stem, so that upon rotation thereof, the valve may be opened. In one type of device, each time the valve is opened and then closed, the piston is threaded toward the valve, and dentifrice is urged into the bristles of the brush. This closure member may be unthreaded, and a special adaptor inserted within the open end, this adaptor having a bore formed centrally therethrough, with threads at one end thereof, so as to accommodate the end of conventional tubes of toothpaste, which may be threaded intothe adaptor. In this manner, dentifrice from ordinary toothpaste tubes may be forced into the hollow body.

' These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevational view of the fountain toothpresent invention, having the brush thereof;

Figure 4' is a vertical sectional view, with parts broken away for clarity, similar to Figure 3, illustrating the valve in its closed position;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the plane defined by reference line 5-5 of Figure 3, illustrating the valve in its open position;

Figure'o is a horizontal sectional view similar to Figure 5, illustrating the valve in its closed position, as in Figure 4;'

Figure 7 is a partial vertical sectional view of the lower portion of the toothbrush, illustrating the method for refilling the brush body with dentifrice;

Figure 8 is a partial vertical sectional view similar to Figure 3,1'llustrating a second embodiment thereof;

Figure 9 is a perspective view, in exploded form, illusvalve stem, piston and control knob therefor;

Figure 10 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the plane defined by the reference line 10--10 of Figure 8;

Figure 11' is a partial vertical sectional view illustrating the valve seat portion of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 8; and

' being tapered upwardly and inwardly so as to provide the body, and is connected to the a flat inclined surface 16 to which the bristles be fastened.

18 may It is to be noted that the bristles 18 are of varying lengths, so as to provide a substantially flat brushing surface. The other end of body 12, is hollow so as to provide a chamber 20 for the reception of a suitable dentifrice. The bottom or open end of this chamber has threads 22 formed on the inner surface thereof, for a purpose which will be explained below.

The chamber 20 has'a bottom 24,'and adjacent the bottom 24, is an inclined wall 26 which must be inclined so as to conform with the inclined brush accommodating surface 16. The chamber 20 is defined by a longitudinal circular wall 28 which is the lower portion of handle 12, andprojects downwardly from head 14.

A bore 30 is formed in the bottom 24 of chamber 20,

and extends into head 14, while communicating with chamber 20. This bore is circular in configuration, and has a passageway or outlet port 32 formed horizontally between the brush accommodating surface 16 and communicates with bore 30, near the upper end thereof. It is to be noted, that the passage 32' while being located near the upper end of bore 30 will not communicate with the extreme upper end, but will be slightly spaced below notched out portion 40 on one side thereof, so that the .cylindrical portion 38 is substantially cut in half along its whole length except for the uppermost portion thereof. The uppermost portion 42 is not cut away, so that a circular portion 42 is provided which is journaled in the bottom of bore 30. The circular portion 42 is of such a height that it is above passage 32. The stem 36 is formed of a circular rod 44, which is square on its extreme lower or outer end thereof as at 46.

A cap 48 having a circular flange 50 projecting therefrom, is secured in the free end of chamber 20, so as to close the same. Flange 50 has threads 52 formed on the outer surface thereof which engage threads 22, so that cap 48 may be threadingly secured to the body 12. A vertical bore 54 is formed through cap 48 in alignment with rod 44, which projects therethrough. The square portion 46 of rod 44, extends outwardly of cap 48, and has a knob 56 receiving this end of the shaft in a square opening 58 provided therein. Thus, it may be seen as in Figure 2, that the knob 56 may be rotated independently of cap 48, and on and off positions may be designated on cap 48 with an arrow being provided on knob 56, so that the user may determine when the valve is in its open and when it is in its closed position. Of course, if it is desired that knob 56 and cap 48 be a single integral unit or non-rotatable with respect to each other, the square portion 46 of rod 44 may be made longer and bore 54 may be made of a square configuration, so that the rod 44 will turn with cap 48 as well as with knob 56. In Figure 3, it may be seen that the position of the valve is such that the dentifrice may flow through an opening provided between the walls of the bore 30, and the notched out portion 40 of the valve, and into passage 32 whereupon dentifrice will be deposited on the brush accommodating surface 16.

A circular piston 60 conforming to the walls of chamber 20, has a vertical bore 62 formed therethrough which is slidably accommodated on rod 44. A spring 64 is disposed between the upper surface of cap 48, and the lower surface of piston 60, so that the piston is constantly being urged toward the valve, and thus urging dentifrice upwardly toward the valve so that when the valve is in the open position dentifrice will be extruded through passage 32.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 8-11, inclusive, it may be seen that a modified form of fountain toothbrush has been illustrated. In this embodiment, the body 12 having the walls 28, is formed with threads v120 formed on the inside of walls 28. Stem 36 is formed from a square rod 144, which is accommodated in a piston 160 having a square opening 162 formed therein. This piston 160 is formed with threads 164 on the outer periphery thereof. Near the lower end of rod 144, a circular portion 66 is formed, which has a short square portion 68 on its outer end. Thus, the cap 148 is solid, and is threaded as at 152 so as to engage the threads 128 of walls 28. A circular bore 154 is provided vertically therethrough to accommodate circular portions 66 of rod 144, and knob 56 has a square bore 58 formed therein to accommodate square portion 68 on the bottom of rod 144. Thus, it may be seen that when the knob 56 is rotated, the valve may be opened and closed as was the case with the previous device. However, upon rotation of rod 144, the piston 160 being splined thereto, will rotate therewith, and because of its being threaded to the walls of the body 12, the piston 160 will be forced upwardly toward the valve, and thus force the dentifrice within the body 12, toward the valve. It is to be noted that in this device also, the circular portion 66 may be made of square configuration, and the bore 154 made to so accommodate the rod 144, that the cap 148 and knob 56 will rotate together.

A cap 84 is provided for the upper portion of the toothbrush 10, to enclose the bristles 18 and thus protect them. This cap 84 is similar to conventional types of caps for fountain pens. A spring clip 86 is provided thereon, so that easy and ready attachment to the pocket of a wearer will be facilitated so as to make carrying the toothbrush when traveling more comfortable.

When the dentifrice 80 has been completely used up, it is necessary to refill the chamber 20. In order to do this, the knobs 56 would have to be removed, the cap 48 or 148 removed, and the pistons 60 or 160 also removed. Then, an adaptor 88 would be threaded into the open end of body 12. A large vertical bore 90 is formed through the center of adaptor 88, to allow the rod 44 or 144 to project therethrough, and still allow clearance between the walls of the bore and the outer periphery of rod 44. Looking now more particularly at Figure 7, it may be seen that a conventional tube of toothpaste 92 having a threaded top 94, is threaded into the threaded lower end 96 of bore 90, with the rod 44 projecting into the tube 92. Next, the tube 92 may be squeezed so as to force dentifrice from the toothpaste tube into the chamber 20. This provides an easy and practical method and apparatus for refilling the chamber 20 with dentifrice. After the chamber has been filled, the tube 92 and adaptor 88' would be removed and the piston, the cap, and the knob replaced. Of course, with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 the spring 64 must also be removed.

It may now be seen that a new and improved type of fountain toothbrush which is extremely versatile and practical has been shown and described.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A fountain toothbrush comprising a tubular handle for the reception of a dentifrice, a head on the forward end of said handle, said head including a back and bristles mounted thereon, said back having a longitudinal bore in the inner end portion thereof closed at its forward end and'communicating at its rear end with the handle for receiving the dentifrice therefrom and further having an outlet port therein communicating with the bore at a point adjacent to but spaced from said closed forward end thereof for discharging the dentifrice on the bristles, an elongated, substantially segmental, rotatable valve longitudinally slidably insertible in the bore from the open rear end thereof for controlling the outlet port and References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 64,736 Baker et a1. May 14, 1867 6 Divine June 14, 1870 Goodwin et al. Sept. 5, 1911 Avery Dec. 17, 1912 Smith Mar. 20, 1917 Gronbech Mar. 14, 1922 Joseph Mar. 28, 1933 

